ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 7, Number 148 November 23, 1998 In this issue: [1] Federal Mandate for Billions of Dollars for School, Library Technology Materializes; Librarians Applaud Progress [2] First Wave of E-rate Funding Commitment Letters Sent: 73 Million Committed to Schools and Libraries [1] Federal Mandate for Billions of Dollars for School, Library Technology Materializes; Librarians Applaud Progress Note: The following is an ALA press release from ALA's Public Information Office. For more information, contact Lynne Bradley at 202-628-8410. Washington, D.C. - The American Library Association (ALA) welcomed today's announcement by the Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) that the first applicants for more than $2 billion in telecommunications discounts, or the E-rate, have started to receive "commitment" letters, promises of funding for technology in their institutions. The SLC reported this morning at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library that a series of mailings to all 30,000 applicants started last week and would be completed by the end of December. Vice President Gore participated in the announcement along with Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley. Although there were no specifics on who will receive commitment letters in this first series of mailings, it is estimated that approximately 3,000 letters were sent late last week. The SLC has posted at their Web site (http://www.slcfund.org) and in other announcements how the waves of commitment letters will be distributed between now and the first of the new year. (ALA will post additional information about the mailings as soon as information is available.) ALA President Ann K. Symons hailed SLC's progress, saying the funds will help the nation's libraries meet their original mission of providing equal access for all Americans. "In both public and school libraries, we know that this is a giant step forward in closing the digital divide," Symons said. "Whether at the high school library where I work in Alaska or in Washington, D.C. at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, library users across the country are realizing an important benefit from the Telecommunications Act." She added, "The E-rate provides huge savings for most libraries. That means more public access terminals in all libraries. It means improved access to the Internet and other electronic information services for which public libraries are the only source in most communities. And, it means the full range of World Wide Web access is affordable in every community." Mary "Molly" Raphael, director the District of Columbia Public Library, said the 26 libraries within the system would collectively realize savings of $350,000 the first year. "Now we can afford to deliver Internet services in every neighborhood, in every branch," Raphael said. Today's letters represent the first round of letters from the SLC committing funds for the E-rate, which was established in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The program has come under periodic challenge by parts of the telecommunications industry and some congressional critics, making SLC's announcement all the more welcome. The discounts provide libraries and K-12 public and private schools with discounts ranging from 20 to 90 percent on telecommunications and related services as part of the longstanding universal service program. The deepest discounts go to libraries and schools in communities with higher poverty levels as demonstrated by eligibility for the federal free/reduced school lunch program. Some of the neediest library systems and school districts will receive additional discounts on internal connections, which will allow classrooms and more reference areas to be wired for the new technologies. The Chicago-based American Library Association, with nearly 57,000 members, has worked toward obtaining the E-rate for schools and libraries since the discounts were first mandated by the Federal Communications Commission. For further information or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson from the American Library Association, contact Joyce Kelly or Linda Wallace at 312-280-5043 or 5042. ****** Note: The following is a November 23 news release from the Schools and Libraries Corporation. THE SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES CORPORATION 1023 15th Street, N.W. Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202-289-2663 Fax: 202-289-7836 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 23, 1998 SLC CONTACT: Jodie Buenning Pozo-Olano (202) 289-2663 [2] FIRST WAVE OF E-RATE FUNDING COMMITMENT LETTERS SENT $73 Million Committed to Schools and Libraries WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) announced today that it has sent the first wave of E-rate funding commitment decision letters to school and library applicants allocating more than $73 million in discounts on telecommunications services, Internet access and internal connections. Every state and the District of Columbia is represented in this first wave of over 3,000 letters. In this wave, one of every four dollars in discounts is going to schools and libraries who need it most: those where at least three-fourths of the student population is eligible for participation in the National School Lunch Program. In addition, one-third of the dollars in this wave will be provided to applicants located in rural areas. "This historic roll-out of E-rate funds is a major step in delivering the promise of the E-rate to America's children and communities," said K.G. Ouye, Chair, SLC Board of Directors. "The vision of universal access to the Internet and today's proven technologies by people of all ages -- whether in schools or in libraries -- will become a reality. Not only will the E-rate help build knowledge and skills, it will foster collaboration and partnerships among educators and help people in every community recognize the value of education, technology, and lifelong learning." In keeping with the FCC's rules of priority, the first wave of E- rate funding commitment letters includes a mix of school and library requests at different discount levels filed within the window for telecommunications services and Internet access, plus a number of internal connections requests for schools and libraries in greatest need. The SLC has sufficient funding to fulfill all "priority one" requests -- those requests for discounts on telecommunications and Internet access within the 75-day application window. Any remaining funds will be allocated for internal connections requests below the 90% discount level. Applications appear in the first wave based on the rules of priority and the completion of all processing and review by the SLC. "We owe so much to the many who have made possible this moment for the E-rate," noted Kate L. Moore, Acting CEO, SLC. "They include a farsighted Congress, a committed Executive Branch, a persevering FCC, a wise and active SLC Board of Directors, a dedicated SLC staff team, and the heart and soul of the E-rate, the school and library leaders who have worked so hard and patiently to make the E-rate a reality and thus bring the technology of the Internet into classrooms and libraries across the nation. We now look forward to further collaboration with service providers to facilitate the delivery of the E-rate." The SLC will respond to E-rate applications received within the "window" through several waves of letters as final decisions are made, rather than wait for all 30,000 requests to be fully processed. Funds have been earmarked to provide for full funding of all requests for telecommunications and Internet access services, the priority one requests. More than 30,000 requests for discounts were received by the SLC during the 75-day application "window," wherein all applications received were treated as having arrived simultaneously. The Corporation plans on at least four waves of funding commitment letters. The second wave is scheduled for the first week in December, with the last wave scheduled in January. The SLC noted that schools and libraries submitting more than one E-rate application will receive more than one E-rate commitment letter and that their letters could be in the same or in different waves. In addition, the Corporation has determined that schools and libraries who filed one application requesting discounts for internal connections as well as for Internet access or telecommunications services will receive an E-rate funding commitment letter only when a final answer can be given on all of the requests within that application. This first wave of funding commitments is being delivered after the successful completion of two sets of audits addressing the SLC's internal controls and program objectives: one by independent auditors, as directed by FCC Chairman William E. Kennard, undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the other by the General Accounting Office as directed Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The E-rate, established by a bipartisan act of Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 with the Snowe-Rockefeller-Exon- Kerrey amendment, is authorized to provide up to $1.925 billion in discounts for the 1998 funding period, which runs from January 1, 1998 to June 30,1999. While the FCC determines the fund level each funding year, the annual cap on the E-rate fund is $2.25 billion. Schools, both public and private, and all public libraries can apply for discounts ranging from 20% to 90% on telecommunications services, Internet access and internal connections. The SLC, a non-profit corporation, administers the E-rate program. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff. Editor: Lynne E. Bradley; Managing Editor: Deirdre Herman; Contributors: Mary Costabile, Adam Eisgrau, Anne Heanue, Carol Henderson, Peter Kaplan, Claudette Tennant and Rick Weingarten.